A Course in Miracles

A Course in Miracles

by Helen Schucman

I will say this book is one of the more interesting books I have had as an RA Favorite book.  The book is called A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman and is a thesis, practical course book, and a teaching manual for instructing young doctors on the importance of Christianity in saving and healing patients.  It is an actual teaching ‘device’ with a theoretical and practical explanation.  It is a very long book – 629 pages for the thesis alone.  The text goes into great depth on the concepts that are the foundation for the author’s beliefs on how to approach healing. The workbook piece contains over 365 lessons, one for each day (but suggested to do more than one lesson a day).  As the first page states, “this course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:

                Nothing real can be threatened

                Nothing unreal exists

                                (Herein lies the peace of God)

Here are some of the thirty-one chapters contained in the book: The meaning of miracles; the illusions of the ego; healing and wholeness; the lessons of love; the journey back; the idols of sickness; God or ego; the Holy Spirit’s curriculum; the attainment of peace; the vision of holiness; the justice of good; the healing of the dream; the wakening; and the final vision.  I will say, it is one of the most in-depth and repetitive series of points I’ve seen in a book.  Being a Christian, many things resonated with me with respect to the teachings, but I would imagine this would be a very difficult read for a non-Christian. I wish there had been more context provided by the author as to the WHY?  I will reach out to the RA who said it was their very favorite book so I can gain more context about how and where this course could be used.  A very, very long read – been reading it over a long period of time, interspersing other books in between.  I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want an in-depth view of the process of thinking and applying the faith.  Otherwise, yeah, very helpful read on getting one’s life back to a religious and spiritual place.  

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

by Julie Andrews Edwards

And yet another young children’s book for this RA Favorite book called The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, written by Julie Andrews Edwards.  This book features a fantastic journey that incorporates the power of imagination, genetics, and how the littlest kid is usually the most successful in solving a problem.  The three Potter kids (Ben, Tom and Lindy) were excited for trick-or-treating on the upcoming Halloween.  Their parents – Dad, a University professor, and Mom, a homemaker – gave great freedom to their children, especially on Halloween, allowing the kids to visit the local ‘haunted house’. But was it truly haunted?  What they learned was that a local Professor, Dr. Savant (whom their Dad knew), lived there. He had just won a Nobel Prize for his work with genetics. Dr. Savant takes the three children under his wing and tells them about his desire to see the whangdoodle, an intelligent, ungulate-like character capable of changing color to suit its emotions, from whose hind legs grow a new and different set of bedroom slippers each year, of which there is only one left in the world.  When the Potters’ parents go away, Dr. Savant brings them to the far, far away land where the whangdoodle lives to look for him.  The adventure getting there and dealing with all of the obstacles (characters and travel difficulties) make for a fun and energetic story.  A cute read for a kid – loved how they intertwined science (genetics) in to the ending. 

So B. It

So B. It

by Sarah Weeks

Another tear-jerker in this book for young adults: So B. It by Sarah Weeks. Heidi knows nothing about her heritage, except that she was born to a woman who is called So B. It. So, yes, Heidi’s last name is “It”…or so she believes.  Her neighbor, Bernadette, found her as a newborn in her mother’s arms on the floor outside of her apartment thirteen years earlier.  Heidi’s mom has some form of mental disability that doesn’t allow her to function normally, and she can only speak twenty-three words.  Bernadette lives in an “attached apartment”, which allows her to come and help raise Heidi and assist her mother with all aspects of living.  Bernadette suffers from agoraphobia, the fear of going outside, and hasn’t been out in years, so she home-schools Heidi.  As Heidi gets older, she is the one who goes out to do the shopping, taking her mother along the way.  Heidi has a strong desire to learn about her history and about her mother’s life.  We learn that Heidi has a lucky streak and is able to predict things, allowing her to win money at the local slot machines (they live in Reno, Nevada).  One day, Heidi finds a mysterious camera in the apartment with film inside and she decides to have it developed. It turns out that they are pictures which look like her mother, maybe a grandmother, and a picture of a facility called Hilltop House in Liberty, NY.  Heidi and Bernadette call the place, a home for people with mental disabilities, and the man in charge will not speak to them.  Finally, after multiple attempts, Heidi decides she is going to take a bus there.  Bernadette is beside herself but relinquishes.  Heidi uses her special powers to win money on slot machines to get there.  What she finds out will be the answers to her heritage, and of course, will introduce more dramatic twists in the plot.  I liked how the author names each chapter after the 23 words that her mother speaks.  This book has the makings of one of the “afternoon specials” which aired when I was a kid.  Well written, good book for young kids who are inquisitive about how diverse and challenging others’ lives can be.

Another Brooklyn

Another Brooklyn

by Jacqueline Woodson

A truly touching story of friendship, family, religion and growing up in Jacqueline Woodson’s book Another Brooklyn. The main character, August, looks back twenty years to her childhood the day her father is buried.  She and her brother were raised by their father after the death of their mother, who never recovered from the death of her own brother in Vietnam.  Instead of being given to protective services when her father could have abandoned the children, as the character reflects, her father stayed and raised two good children despite the poverty and lack of educational opportunities in the poor areas in the 1980s.  August meets her ‘soulmates’ – three black teens – and explores the issues they faced: boyfriends, prejudice, and being ostracized in a community that was riddled with crime.  She also explores the impact of her father’s female friend who instills the Muslim religion into their life.  Woodson’s prose is beautiful and the art of reflection after the passing of a parent adds to the depth of relationships, sadness, and moments of joy that were experienced moving from Tennessee to Brooklyn and during a trip back home to learn more about her mother’s life.  Highly recommend this book.

Killing Pablo

Killing Pablo

by Mark Bowden

The ‘behind the scenes’ search for Pablo Escobar, the number one hunted man in Columbia, for his killings and numero uno kingpin in the illegal drug cartels in Columbia is the framework of Mark Bowden’s book Killing Pablo. Bowden uses personal interviews from police, intel, US CIA agents, newspaper and other media sources to provide an in-depth look into the man, his failings, and his ability to evade a country for years as the leader of the largest drug ring ever to be known in the world.  Escobar started as a ‘young thug’ and later was hailed as the calmest criminal to exist.  Dedicated to family and his inner-circle of comrades, he was quick to eliminate those people who stopped him from what he wanted most: money, luxuries and young women.  If he wanted something, he would buy it and the would order the people around him to do his dirty deeds.  An extraordinary story of how a country fell prey to one man’s yearning to be the leader or “el jefe”.  The elusive one’s checkered life story well documented.  Worth a read.

Fire to Fire

Fire to Fire

by Mark Doty

Finished a book of poetry called Fire to Fire written by Mark Doty.  The book contains selected poems from previously released publications. Some of his work is set only blocks away from NYU, some in Houston, and some in ancient times.  His style is simplistic with understandable descriptors (i.e., not flowery language).  It is like having the guy next door share thoughts on areas such as defining beauty, hanging at the corner diner (21^st and 3^rd avenue), the burning of a gorgeous home in Jersey City, a local theatre house, and love.  I especially enjoyed his poem on being aboard a plane about to make an emergency landing (appearing to crash) and what the moments were like for him and his partner.  Doty, a gay male, offers some perspective on how vulnerable one can feel searching for love in a society not always understanding of same-sex relationships.  His poems are short and I recommend you take your time as reading such prose is, not only impressive, but a lost art today.  There are few contemporary poets who can describe visiting a gym as eloquently as he can (funny because I was reading the poem At the Gym at the gym this morning!)  He captured it perfectly.  Not a hug fan of poetry as I still remember taking a poetry class my junior year and never finding the depth I was expected to in the poems, but this is a good read.

The Crossroads of Should and Must

The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion

by Elle Luna

This one is a life coach’s dream book!  I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend for any person interested in living the life you want for yourself.  Author Elle Luna lives the book by challenging herself to find her passion, live her passion, and, in turn, writes her book: The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion. Luna describes how others influence our thinking and the importance of filtering out these external influences and discovering our own desires instead.  She begins with true life stories of others who did just the same thing – famous people like Einstein, Picasso, T.S. Eliot, etc.  She believes our “crossroads” are found where “should”, what others have us influenced to believe, and “must”, what’s in our hearts, meet. Choosing “must” is the greatest thing we can do with our lives.  The book covers the origins of “should”, “must”, and the return on living a “must” life.  She gives concrete examples of how to work towards living the “must” life by sharing how we challenge the barriers that one will face: money, worthiness, time, and other things that often hold us back.  The book is an artist’s dream: great colors, pictures, and inspiring thoughts/quotes throughout.  You can read this one in 90 minutes and every page will blow away long-held assumptions that are deeply embedded in one’s psyche.  I plan on using this as part of my speech for Torch Day this year.  Thanks JP for sharing the book.  I really loved this one!

The Scarecrow and his Servant

The Scarecrow and his Servant

by Philip Pullman

Always fun to read a young-adult book with a message.  This one, The Scarecrow and the Servant by Philip Pullman, is a quick read.  Yes, this is the same author who wrote His Dark Material, trilogy of three books which were very popular.  This book is a bit on the lighter side. It details the story of a scarecrow who has been stolen from one farmer by another, is struck by lightning and is able to speak, walk and behave like a human!  He meets a young boy who he recruits as a servant.  The two go on a journey, eventually learning that they are being chased by the evil family of the original owner who made the scarecrow.  The scarecrow loses parts of himself on the journey, including his head (an onion), which the boy is forced to eat as he was so hungry that the scarecrow offered it.  His head is replaced with a coconut that they find on the journey.  Eventually they are caught by the police and tried for treason, but they counter-sue the evil family who has made the claims against the scarecrow.  In a strange twist, they win the court case with the help of a friendly raven, who helps to show that the scarecrow can be the rightful owner of the land that the original farmer left him, even though he was rebuilt as a scarecrow.  Evil never wins!  A nice cute story! 

This I Believe

This I Believe

by Jay Allison & Dan Gediman

A great motivational read in This I Believe by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman.  The authors found a copy of a book written in the 1950s with the same name, and, after investigating, they learned it was a weekly radio segment in which well-known citizens were interviewed (politicians, celebrities, authors, scientists, etc.) about what they believed.  Some ‘regular citizens’ were upset that they were not included and asked if they could submit their own beliefs – and they were allowed to do so.  The show went off the air a few years later.  This 2006 re-make of the original captures stories from the 1950s show AND those submitted by regular citizens through a website (which is still live), which asks “What is it you believe in?” Take a look: https://thisibelieve.org/. Pretty remarkable things that people believe in and commit to doing.  A good pick-me-up in this era of the ‘haters’…. Lots of good 2-3 page stories.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter

Cinderella Ate My Daughter

by Peggy Orenstein

This will be my last book for a while I think as the class of 2022 checks in tomorrow to NYU residence halls.  Finished a read about the perplexing problem of how to raise a female in the 21^st century.  Author/sociologist Peggy Orenstein makes her case (based on research) that young girls are missing the role models they need in this day and age. They grow up with immense pressure to be physically attractive, faced with the constant threat of being called “fat” “ugly” or a “slut”. The behavior of female teens, based on this messaging from society, is leading them to fall prey to low self-esteem, drugs, suicide, and engaging in early-age, pre-marital sex.  Orenstein’s book was published in 2011, right in the middle of the Miley Cyrus craze and the Disney movies featuring princesses that succumb to the desires of princes.  Orenstein uses data focused on young and teenage girls to strengthen her points.  She holds no punches in an explosive attack on this generation’s sense of morals.  She speaks with a Disney executive who validates that money is the impetus for all decisions, even if it may be hurting young girls’ self-esteem.  Orenstein goes back to the era of FDR as one of the pivotal moments where gender was linked to color (blue = boys, girls = pink) and describes how societal expectations have gotten worse since then.  Feminists, sociologists, and supportive males will feel more than validated by this analysis of young girls and the pressures they face in our society.  Not much new for me on this front, even having raised two boys, but appreciate the reminder to be aware of how our actions can stereotype a gender.